


A Berry Cloudy Day

by brightmoonprincess



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightmoonprincess/pseuds/brightmoonprincess
Summary: Bow overestimates his plant identification skills. Glimmer deals with the aftermath.[glimbow week 2020]
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33
Collections: Glimbow Week 2020





	A Berry Cloudy Day

**Author's Note:**

> for glimbow week 2020! the prompt is illness/injury
> 
> idk when this takes place, pre-show or a non-canon scene.
> 
> the lovely art is by [roseations](https://roseations.tumblr.com/post/628446082610954240/glimbow-week-day-2-injuryillness-prompt-fill) on tumblr!

“Bow, are you _sure_ you got a signal around here?” Glimmer asks for the third time. They’ve been wandering through the Whispering Woods for over an hour at this point, and her calves are starting to ache in protest. 

Ok, maybe all of her teleporting has her a _bit_ out of shape, but can you blame her? Why walk anywhere where you can just teleport there? She even did some teleporting to get over a few hurdles at the beginning of their hike, buuut because of that, she used up her magic a little too quickly. So now she’s just walking, rationing out her power so that she has enough to get them back to Bright Moon-- plus a little extra, in case.

Bow holds her hand as she steps down off of an overgrown tree root. “I’m one hundred percentage sure!” he insists, but afterwards he looks down at his tracker pad and frowns. “It was faint, and it was flickering in and out… but it was definitely around here!”

Glimmer sighs. She’s usually not the type to give up, but she knows a hopeless situation when she sees one. Part of being a good leader is knowing when to call it quits. At least, that’s what her leg muscles are reminding her of.

She suggests, “Maybe we can come back tomorrow? Honestly, I’m getting kind of tired.”

The disappointment on his face is immediate. “What if we take a break, then we check again?” Bow pleads, flashing his puppy eyes.

Glimmer groans, but less at his suggestion and more at how he had the audacity to play the cute card yet again. How is she supposed to say no to that? Everyone thinks Bow is so wholesome and innocent, but it’s not true! He’s gotta know how cute he is. There’s no way he doesn’t. And he’s using it to his advantage!

There’s only one answer she can give. “...Fine, fine,” Glimmer relents.

The area that they’ve found themselves in is grassy and quaint, so they decide here is as good of a place as any. Glimmer lays on the soft greenery and closes her eyes. 

Bow is still restless and eager, so he pokes around the area. Having grown up in the woods, he knows the flora fairly well, and before long, he manages to find a bush full of edible berries.

“Hey, I found some cloudberries!” he announces. “I used to eat these all the time when I was a kid. Do you want some?”

“Sure, just give me a minute,” Glimmer answers, her body not ready to get up quite yet.

Bow inspects the berry bush, searching for the perfect one. The unripe berries are almost completely white, dotted with seeds, but the ones ready to be eaten are wide and plump, either a pastel purple or a soft orange color, depending on the variety. Bow plucks a lilac-colored berry and pops it into his mouth.

Immediately, he realizes that something is wrong. Instead of the sweet juice he was expecting, the fruit tastes vinegary and bitter. That can only mean one thing.

“... Uh oh,” he says aloud.

Glimmer sits up and looks over at him. “Uh oh? Is something wrong?”

Bow slowly turns to her. His vision is already starting to get blurry. “I… think that these aren’t what I thought they were,” he admits. 

“Wait, what do you mean?” Glimmer asks, panic rising in her voice.

His stance wobbles, and he doesn’t answer.

“Bow!” Glimmer calls out, and she teleports over in time to catch him before he hits the ground. “What’s wrong?!”

He is still conscious, but he only groans in response. She holds his hand, and he grips onto it tightly. 

“Bow?!” she tries again, and he manages to raise his other hand just enough to point at the berry bush.

Oh no… Glimmer reaches over and takes one of the berries. When she pinches it in her fingers, the juice spills out from the periwinkle flesh, dark and blood-red. She can feel it as it runs down her finger-- these things are magic. And it’s powerful. But she has no idea what they are or what they do.

She’s trying not to full-out panic, but the tears are starting to fill her eyes. Think, Glimmer think! 

Ok. First things first, she needs to get him back to Bright Moon. Then what? Wait-- Aunt Casta is visiting Bright Moon right now! She would definitely know what these are. 

“Hang in there, Bow,” Glimmer tells him. He’s still in too much pain to respond, and seeing him like this makes her heart shatter.

She exhausted all of her magic by by teleportation them both to his room in Bright Moon. Bow lands safely in his bed. He’s still holding onto her hand tightly. When she starts to pull away, he grunts in protest.

“D… Don’t go,” he says shakily. 

“I’ll be right back,” she promises him, but her heart is breaking when she lets go of his hand.

Her body is absolutely drained, with hardly enough magic to conjure even a spark, and she’s so, so exhausted. But that doesn’t stop her from running out of the bedroom and rushing to Castaspella’s room down the hall, adrenaline keeping her going. As soon as she finds the door, she bangs her fists against it. 

“Aunt Casta! Are you there? I need help!” she calls out. 

A confused and concerned Castaspella opens the door. “Glimmer? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Bow!” Glimmer says tearfully. “Something happened to him. He ate these berries that he said were cloudberries but then said they weren’t and they were magic and looked like blood and I don’t know what to do-- please help me!”

After the flurry of words leaves her mouth, Glimmer can’t hold back any longer. The tears stream freely down her face, and she lets out a sob with each heavy breath.

Aunt Casta immediately pulls her in, hugging her close. “It’ll be ok, dear,” Casta promises her, and the way she says so with such assurance does make Glimmer feel better. “Come on, let’s go see how he’s doing.”

Glimmer wipes at her eyes and nods. She hurriedly leads Casta back to Bow’s room. When they go inside, he’s still on the bed, whimpering softly. 

“Oh, poor thing,” Casta comments.

When Bow notices the two of them, he tries to sit up, but fails to do so. He tries to speak instead.

“Where’s… Glimmer…?” he asks, straining his voice to do so. “Tell her… don’t eat… the berries…”

Glimmer’s still right there, but maybe he’s in too much pain to notice? She sits down on the edge of the bed, and she grabs his hand. “Hey, I’m here, Bow,” she says, but his eyes close as he winces in pain.

Casta walks up to the bed, and she draws a rune in the air. It hangs there, two overlapping circles with various ancient symbols inside of them, and the shapes rotate counterclockwise. Casta analyzes its movements thoughtfully.

“Just as I thought. Duskberries,” Casta says, shaking her head. “They are commonly mistaken for cloudberries, actually. The only way to tell them apart is through squeezing out the juice, or tasting one. Although, I wouldn’t recommend the latter... They’re named duskberries because if you eat too many, the moon sets on your life forever!”

“WHAT?!”

Casta actually _laughs_ , and Glimmer stared at her bewilderedly. 

“Don’t worry, dear. It looks like he didn’t have enough to be fatal. He’ll be fine. Just keep him well-nourished, and keep him company,” the experienced sorceress advises her niece, who is too relieved to be angry at the previous comment. “I put a spell on him to ease the pain as well.”

Glimmer lets out a sigh. “Thank you, Aunt Casta…”

Casta smiles softly at her. “Oh! One more thing…” she remembers. “The effects aren’t just physical. The magic in duskberries is known to cause a particular kind of amnesia. He won’t be able to recognize the faces of people until the magic wears off. Unfortunately, there’s no known counterspell for it.”

“Wait, so he won’t know who I am?” Glimmer asks, and Casta nods. “How long do you think it’ll last?”

“Oh, no more than a couple hours,” Casta answers with a nonchalant wave of her hand.

Glimmer thinks that might be a little weird to deal with, but at least it’s temporary. The most important thing is that he’ll be ok. “Got it. Thanks again for your help,” she says once more, standing up to give Casta another tight hug.

“Of course,” Casta says warmly. She gives Glimmer a loving pat on the head, which Glimmer pouts at, but she doesn’t protest. “I’ll be in my room. Come get me if his condition gets worse.”

She leaves, and Glimmer takes another look over at Bow. He’s no longer groaning in pain, and he might have actually fallen asleep. It looks like Casta’s spell worked, so at least he doesn’t have to suffer anymore.

Glimmer sits back down on the bed. She presses a hand against his forehead to check for a fever. He does seem to have a slight one, but it's nothing to be too concerned about. She watches his face for a moment, and her hand slides down to rest along his jaw. His sleeping expression is free of tension, his cheek soft and his features calm. She holds his face tenderly in the palm of her hand, and her chest is full of warmth. She’s so, so happy that he’s going to be ok.

For now, it seems best to let him rest, so she decides to take the time to visit the moonstone. Since she’s completely out of magic, she has to take the long way around instead of teleporting there, and _woooow._ She would gladly go back to hiking in the woods now, rather than climbing up this preposterously endless sets of stairs.

It’s worth the effort, though. She makes it to the top, and she takes a few moments to bask in the energy of the moonstone, letting it flow into her body. Soon she’s refilled with magical energy, and she’s weightless and powerful and free.

She teleports back to Bow’s room, and when she gets there, he’s awake and sitting up in bed. He jumps a bit in surprise at the sight of her, his reaction delayed by a second.

“Bow! You’re awake!” Glimmer says excitedly. “How are you feeling?”

“Not good… but I’m a liiittle better,” he grumbles, slumped against the bed frame. His words sound garbled, and he seems a little out of it. Magical sickness will do that to ya, Glimmer supposes.

“Ok, that’s something at least. Aunt Casta says you’re going to be fine,” she tells him. “I was so worried about you!”

Bow hesitates, and there’s something weird about the way he’s looking at her. He looks uncomfortable. “Sorry, but... who are you?” he asks.

Oh. Right. The amnesia thing that Casta mentioned. Glimmer wonders if maybe she should check if he can remember her anyways? They’re best friends, after all. If he’s going to remember anyone, it would be her.

“I’m Glimmer!” she tells him cheerfully.

Bow stares at her like she just told him the moons exploded and the world is about to end. “... I don’t know if that is supposed to be a joke or not.”

She frowns at him. “It’s not. You really don’t recognize me?”

He clearly isn’t convinced. “Glimmer is my best friend. I _know_ what she looks like!” he states firmly. “Why are you pretending to be her?”

Glimmer decides to just give up. Fighting against the magic feels like a waste of time, especially if it’s going to wear off in a couple of hours. “... Fine, you got me, I’m not Glimmer,” she gives in reluctantly. “I’m just here to help you get better.”

She doesn’t come up with a good enough answer for why she’s impersonating… herself… but he doesn’t push the topic. She can still see the confusion on his face, like he’s struggling to remember something but can’t quite grasp it, his mind too muddled and cloudy.

She knew this would be weird, but... he really is looking at her like she's a completely stranger. It's awkward and it doesn't feel right and it makes her chest ache.

“I’m, uh… Going to get you some soup, ok? Be right back!” She teleports away before he can respond.

She reappears in the kitchen, and she lets out a sigh. Well _that_ was all kinds of disheartening. It feels so weird for Bow to not recognize her. He was acting so distant and wary. He wasn't looking at her the way he usually does. He literally doesn’t know who she is, and he doesn’t realize that she’s his best friend... It’s not a good feeling.

Her thoughts start spiraling. What if Aunt Casta is wrong, and he _never_ remembers who she is again? She didn’t realize how scary of a thought that is until now. She doesn’t even want to think about the possibility of losing her best friend.

No, no, stop that. Bow is going to be fine. The magic is going to wear off, and everything is going to be ok. She needs to stop worrying so much and focus on helping Bow get better. She tells herself to stop dwelling on it, and she focuses on the task at hand instead. 

It’s a weird time of day for a meal, so the kitchen itself is empty, giving her plenty of freedom to poke around. A few minutes later, she’s boiling a spicy broth on the stove and filling the pot with tofu and tons of vegetables. It’s from an old family recipe, something cozy and soothing, and it’ll get Bow feeling better in no time!

Once it’s done, she transfers the soup into a bowl, places the dish onto a tray, and teleports back to Bow’s room. 

“Here you go!” she announces when she returns. She sets the tray down on Bow’s lap.

"Oh... thanks! Um..." he says. He hesitates to touch the food. He's still giving her a confused look. "What is your name, again? Also... why do you have three eyes? Wait, no… four?”

Glimmer opts to ignore both of the questions. “Soup first, questions later,” she commands, and Bow pouts. “You need to eat if you want to feel better. Aunt Casta’s orders!”

He doesn’t argue back, thankfully, and he sips on a spoonful of hot soup. Afterwards, he gives her a thumbs up. “Not bad!”

“Just ‘not bad’?” Glimmer questions. “You usually love my-- I mean, you usually love Glimmer’s soup!”

“Wellllll Glimmer's is better than yours." 

Wow, ok. Glimmer isn’t sure whether or not she should feel insulted by this, but she is. 

"Excuse me? it's the exact same recipe!" she defends herself.

"Hmm... ok you're right… I just like hers better because…” he starts to say, and his voice lowers to a whisper. “ _I love her._ But don't tell her that, ok?"

Glimmer’s cheeks flush a bright pink. Did he just…? _No, wait,_ he definitely didn’t mean it like that. He probably just meant it in the friendship-way. It usually isn’t said out loud so explicitly, but of course they love and care for each other. They're best friends, and they have been for years. Besides, even if he did mean in a different way... he’s not thinking straight right now. He literally just asked why she had four eyes. Nothing he says should be taken at face value. Stop getting so worked up over it, she scolds herself.

“Well, um… I’m sure she loves you, too,” she says, but she’s not even sure what to say.

Bow shakes his head. “Nooo, it’s different,” he persists, and his eyebrows furrow as he tries to figure out how to explain it. 

“Glimmer is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. Ever!!! She’s brave, she’s smart, she’s fun, she’s kind...” he says, holding up a finger for each positive trait that he lists off. “And I can’t even look at her without thinking about how pretty she is! Sometimes I think about it when I’m _not_ looking at her!”

He sighs exasperatedly and bemoans, “Buuuuut I dunno if she thinks the same about me.” When he looks back over at Glimmer, he adds, “Hmmm… are you sure you’re not sick, too? Your face is reeeaaally red right now,” .

“O-Oh, um, what?” Glimmer stammers. “I-I’m fine! I just, uh, I’ll be right back!”

She runs away from the situation the best way she knows how-- by teleporting away, of course-- and she rematerializes in the hallway. She presses her back against the wall, and she slumps downwards until she’s sitting on the floor. Her heart is racing, and she’s so confused and overwhelmed and nervous that she feels like she might pass out.

What was that all about? Despite taking into account the whole magic curse thing… everything he said felt so sincere. The way he was talking about her almost seemed like he… Hm... 

If he really felt like that, why didn’t he say anything about it before? Was he nervous? Was he worried about ruining things? That's always been true for her, but she never thought that Bow might feel the same way... 

Ugh! She's getting ahead of herself-- she doesn't even know how he meant it all in the first place! To add to it all, he didn’t even know he was telling her! He doesn’t recognize her, and it seems like he isn’t even thinking about what he’s saying. Maybe he doesn't even know what he's saying. Maybe he's making it all up. There’s a possibility that it could be a side effect to the magic that Casta forgot to mention. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?

She teleports back to Casta’s door, and she catches her aunt just as she’s leaving the room.

“Oh, Glimmer!” Castaspella greets her. “Is Bow doing alright?” 

“He’s doing better,” Glimmer answers quickly. “But the curse that’s on Bow right now… is it supposed to make him say weird things? Like, I don’t know... random lies?”

The sorceress raises an eyebrow at her. “That is oddly specific, but… no, I don’t believe that’s a symptom, dear.”

“Ah, ok…” Glimmer murmurs, considering this new information. She isn’t sure if it’s a relief or not. If Bow really did mean what he was saying, then… Well, then what?

“Is that all?” Casta asks her, and Glimmer nods.

“Yep! Thanks!” she says, and with that, she quickly teleports back to Bow’s room, leaving behind an amused Casta.

She doesn’t exactly know what she’s going to do next, if anything at all... but she doesn’t want to leave Bow alone for too long.

Thankfully, it looks like she doesn’t need a plan quite yet, as Bow managed to fall asleep in the few minutes that she was away. That’s probably a good thing; he needs all the rest he can get. Both his body and mind are going through a lot right now. And honestly? She could use a break, too. This day is becoming really, really stressful.

She wonders, would Bow mind if she slept next to him? Normally, he definitely wouldn’t. They’ve napped together plenty of times. But it’s a little different if he has no idea who she is.

She tests the water, and she lays down in the bed beside of him. The mattress is wide enough to put some distance between them, so if he wakes up, it won’t be _that_ weird.

He’s still asleep, or maybe half-asleep, but he somehow realizes that she’s there. His arms find her body almost instinctively, and he immediately pulls her to him, until their bodies are pressed closely together.

Even if he doesn’t recognize Glimmer’s face… he recognizes her presence, and he knows her touch. Realizing that warms something in her chest, and she smiles softly. Her heart is picking up speed again, and there’s no way she can actually sleep now. But she’s more than happy to stay like this for a while. 

They do so, holding each other as the minutes tick by. Eventually, Bows starts to stir awake again.

“Glimmer…?” he mumbles sleepily.

Before he can see her face and freak out, Glimmer quickly places her over his eyes. “Hi. It’s me. Are you feeling better?”

“Definitely better. Still not one hundred percent yet,” he answers. “Er... What are you doing?”

She hesitates, wondering the best way to go about this. “Sooo… this is going to sound crazy, but if you see my face, you won’t recognize me. Magic shenanigans. You know how it is.”

“What? But I know it’s you,” Bow argues. “There’s no way I won’t recognize you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too.”

“... Oh, whoops. Sorry.”

Glimmer shrugs before she remembers that he can’t see it, and she just says, “It wasn’t your fault. It’s not a big deal.”

Ok, it was kind of a big deal when he spilled out all those feelings that she still isn’t sure what to do about, buuut… She doesn’t know if he remembers everything he said earlier. She isn’t sure if now is a great time to bring it up.

“... Can you keep your eyes closed? So we can stay like this?” Glimmer asks. Part of the confidence is coming from the fact that he can’t see how embarrassed she looks right now. It might be selfish of her, but she wants to pretend like he did mean everything he said. At least for a little while.

She watches the smile spread across his face, sweet and warm. “Sure. I’ll keep them closed,” he promises.

Glimmer slowly lifts her hand from his eyes, and Bow indeed keeps them shut. She hides her face against his chest. He holds her tightly and kisses the top of her head.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” he murmurs.

“Don’t mention it. You would do the same for me.”

“Of course,” he agrees. A moment passes as they settle into each other. Then, he adds, “The soup was just as good this time, by the way.”

Glimmer freezes. 

Wait, if Bow remembers that… Then...

She can’t hold back her giddy smile as she nuzzles into his chest. “... Tell me that again when the magic wears off,” she challenges him, and he laughs.

“Ok,” he says.


End file.
